British Tabloid 'News of the World' Apologizes to Justin Timberlake, Pays Substantial Restitution to Entertainer for Libelous Story; Timberlake to Donate Settlement To Charity.LONDON -- British tabloid News of the World today admitted printing a fabricated and libelous In the nature of a written Defamation ,a communication that tends to injure reputation. story about Justin Timberlake, apologized in court, agreed to pay substantial undisclosed damages, and pledged to run a prominent public apology in their newspaper. The woman who made the allegation, Lucy Clarkson Lucy Clarkson (born July 6, 1983, Rotherham, South Yorkshire) is an English model. She is best known as being the fourth official Lara Croft model from the Tomb Raider series of video games, a role she carried since May 2000 at the age of 16. , agreed to return everything she received for selling the fictional story to the paper. Timberlake will donate the monetary damages Monetary damages, in civil law, refers to compensation given to an injured party by a liable party. Monetary damages may be restitution, a penalty, or both. to charity. "Yet again, a tabloid has been caught lying," said Timberlake spokesman Ken Sunshine Kenneth Mark Sunshine is a public relations consultant. He grew up in Long Island but now resides in Manhattan and is a graduate of Cornell University. He started his career working for ASCAP, he then moved on to politics, serving as chief of staff for David Dinkins during his time . "Thankfully the judicial process worked, but how many cases like this will it take before these tabloids feel obligated ob·li·gate tr.v. ob·li·gat·ed, ob·li·gat·ing, ob·li·gates 1. To bind, compel, or constrain by a social, legal, or moral tie. See Synonyms at force. 2. To cause to be grateful or indebted; oblige. to print the truth. Have they no shame?" In July 2004, News of the World printed a completely fabricated story that it bought from Lucy Clarkson accusing Timberlake of having an affair with Clarkson. Timberlake sought an apology from the newspaper, which never came, and subsequently pursued legal action. After initially backing Clarkson's fabricated account, the newspaper now admits that all of the allegations are untrue and without substance. Clarkson, who sold her story, now also admits that it was all a lie. News of the World maintains that it printed the fabricated story in good faith. The settlement calls for News of the World and Lucy Clarkson to apologize for their actions in court today, and for News of the World to print a prominent retraction In the law of Defamation, a formal recanting of the libelous or slanderous material. Retraction is not a defense to defamation, but under certain circumstances, it is admissible in Mitigation of Damages. Cross-references Libel and Slander. of the story and an apology. News of the World must also pay substantial undisclosed damages, and Clarkson will return all of the money she received for the fictional story. Both News of the World and Clarkson are forbidden from ever repeating the allegations again. Through The Justin Timberlake Foundation, Timberlake will donate the money he receives from the settlement to Roots And Shoots Roots & Shoots is a program of The Jane Goodall Institute. It was started by Dr. Jane Goodall in 1991 with 16 high school age kids from Tanzania. Since then it has grown to more than 8,000 groups in 96 countries. , a non-profit organization founded by Dr. Jane Goodall that engages and inspires youth through community service and service learning. Founded in 2001, The Justin Timberlake Foundation is dedicated to promoting music education as essential to a child's development. |
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